Over the years there have been a number of budget speeches delayed at the request of governors from both parties.

Throughout all of those events, we never realized how fraught with peril the whole process was. After last week, we now know and will never again forget.

As most of you know by now, Gov. Pat Quinn has asked to postpone his budget speech until March 26. He was supposed to deliver it February 19.

You will note, of course, that Feb. 19 falls before the March 18 primary and March 26 falls after that. This gives rise to political conspiracy that Quinn is desperate to keep the lid on his budget plan until after the primary. Why? Because when he delivers his budget this year, Quinn will finally have to address the fact a large part of the 2011 income tax increase expires at the end of December, halfway through the budget year. That will immediately cut income tax revenue by $1.3 billion or more, depending on which analysis you trust. That's a mighty big hole to fill in the budget, especially considering how much complaining is already going on about cuts lawmakers have been forced to make in recent years.

So far, Quinn has done a pretty good job tiptoeing around that issue whenever he's been asked about it. At least the budget will (presumably) give some sign of how he's going deal with the lost revenue, or avoid losing the revenue in the first place.

How, exactly, delaying the budget speech helps Quinn before the primary election is less clear. Maybe a misstep on the budget before the primary would cause a tidal wave of Democrats to abandon Quinn and throw their support to his Democratic opponent, the little-known and underfunded Tio Hardiman.

There's an argument that Quinn wants to know who his Republican opponent is before he delivers the speech, which would then be tailored somehow to minimize his opponent. Yeah, whatever.

The official reason from Quinn's people is that he's putting together a five-year budget plan, which naturally requires more time to compile.

And then there's the cynical option offered by people who have seen this administration in operation the last five years. That version pretty much says the administration wasn't going to be ready to present a budget this month anyway, so if it had to be put off, it might as well be beyond the primary.

Republicans didn't want to let Quinn delay his speech. They said it was a political move and, of course, to show the dire effects of a delay, they brought up the schools.

Why, they said, late March is when school districts have to start considering staffing levels for the next school year and begin the layoff process if jobs have to be cut. Their argument was that if Quinn is allowed to delay the speech, those poor school districts will have no idea what kind of state assistance they can count on next year, throwing the whole process into chaos.

Page 2 of 2 - Oh, please. The state budget is never done until the end of May, whether the budget speech is made on time or delayed. Schools never knows in March how much money they're going to have available next year.

You gotta come up with something better than that.

Say what?

■ "I checked with the U.N. If they hire five more people, they'll be an army." — Rep. Chad Hays, R-Catlin, on the 1,200 new workers to check Medicaid eligibility.

■ "Have you heard anyone in this House say they want smaller government?" — Rep. Don Moffitt, R-Gilson, in announcing a new group he is forming for lawmakers interested in losing weight and living a healthier lifestyle while serving in Springfield.

Doug Finke covers Illinois politics for the Springfield State Journal-Register. He can be reached at (217) 788-1527. His email is doug.finke@sj-r.com. Follow him at twitter.com/DougFinkeSJR.